The administration of GPO-VIR S30 fixed-dose combination tablets in fractions or as a whole tablet to children resulted in appropriate NVP exposure and satisfactory virological and immunological benefit. This finding confirms the effectiveness of using a fixed-dose combination as a "transitional option" while waiting for a paediatric fixed-dose combination drug formulation.

Summary: Scaling up of antiretroviral treatment (ART) for children in countries like Thailand will require decentralization and management by non-specialist doctors. We describe (a) the formulation of a standardized drug dosage table to facilitate antiretroviral drug (ARV) prescriptions for children, (b) the acceptability of such a table among doctors and (c) the safety and efficacy of drug doses in the table.Acceptability was assessed using a questionnaire. Safety and efficacy were assessed on the basis of incidence of adverse effects and virological response to treatment, respectively.Of all doctors (n ¼ 18), 17 (94%) found that the table was practical to use, avoided miscalculations and made them more confident with prescriptions. Of 49 children prescribed ARVs, less than 5% had adverse side-effects. All ARV-naïve children achieved undetectable viral loads within six months of ART.In our setting, a standardized drug dosage table provided a simple and reliable tool that facilitated ARV prescriptions for children.